Daily Brief United States: Futu Holdings Ltd, Black Knight Inc, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Kulicke And Soffa Industries,, Micron Technology, Ethereum, Bitcoin Pro, Splunk Inc and more

• Futu Holdings Ltd (FUTU US) will Dual Primary list on the HKEX (388 HK) by Way of Introduction and the stock is expected to start trading on 30 December.
• Following the changes to the handling of Dual-Primary-listed companies, Futu Holdings Ltd (FUTU US) should be added to the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH INDEX) at the March rebalance.
• Futu Holdings Ltd (FUTU US) should also be added to the HSCI at the March rebalance and should be added to Southbound Stock Connect late July/ early August.

• We think that a ~40% spread overstates the risk of this deal not moving to completion. 
• The horizontal integration aspects of this transaction can be remedied, but this is a largely vertical merger transaction which regulators may struggle to prove will lead to monopolistic behavior.
• Even if the  ICE merger is ultimately blocked,  BKI has other supporting factors that could drive upside – an attractive valuation and a potential revival of interest from other parties 

• Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX US), the global leader in cystic fibrosis treatment, has a broad and deep clinical pipeline across multiple modalities. Each of its clinical programs represents a multibillion-dollar opportunity.  
• MRNA drug candidate for treating the remaining 5,000 CF patients who cannot benefit from existing therapies, is set to enter clinic. Drug candidate for acute pain is in late-stage trial.
• Regulatory submission for exa-cel for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia in U.S., EU and UK are expected to be completed by 1Q23.

• This model finds companies facing recent sharp cuts in estimates. These shorts can have very disparate characteristics.
• The key judgement involves whether the negative revisions are temporary or if they are indications of ongoing weakness in the business. 
• Breaking Estimates stocks often continue to decline after the cuts.  This week we flag:  Kulicke & Soffa, Kronos, Marvell Tech, Montauk Renewables

• Micron Technology, Inc. reported fiscal Q1 2023 earnings and announced cost-cutting measures.
• Macroeconomic trends are still a drag, according to the company.
• The company also announced cost cutting measures for the next year’s fiscal year.

Is there still hope for Crypto in 2023? In the next webinar, we speak with Insight Provider Edward Wu on just that, as he shares with us the landscape of the Crypto industry in 2023. From the problems with the current crypto industry, to Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, Edward will share with us his thoughts in this next episode of our Webinar Wednesdays. Have any burning questions about Crypto, DeFi trading or Ethereum Layer 2 solutions? Get them answered in the live Q&A that will conclude the session. 

The webinar will be hosted on Wednesday, 4 January 2023, 17:00 SGT/HKT.

Edward Wu is an experienced financial professional with strong research experience in macroeconomics, credit as well as corporate banking. He is a true believer in the future of Crypto/DeFi and foresee widely adoption of tokenization of real-world assets. He is currently actively researching in the crypto field, mainly focused on DeFi, DAO governance, and tokenomic design.

• Some people think of crypto as purely an investment opportunity. A highly volatile asset class that comes with risk, but eventually the returns will be worth it.
• However, this perception is somewhat naive, as it ignores one of crypto’s biggest use cases: financial freedom.
• The concept of financial freedom is hard to grasp for the privileged of us living in Europe or the US – despite record levels of inflation, we are not financially oppressed, and we can bank on our savings being relatively intact next year.

• Splunk is stronger with Q3 earnings and guidance. The company is shadowed by takeover talk.
• The company has a strong cloud market make it a buy. The firm is shadowing by takeover talks.
• The firm has been in the news for more than two years.